I want to shave my antenna, I hate that ugly thing on the passenger side of my car that serves no purpose. I dont use it ever, I always listen to MP3's. My antenna isnt even plugged into my cd player, lol. Anyone have any pics and/or an estimate on the price, or if it is doable myself.

 

Got mine done for $70

You need to weld a piece of metal in there and use body filler to make it smooth....

That's about it....

You can see in the pic below of the passenger side, that it's now gone.....

 

Thats sweet. hey, what do the side vents do, or are they just there for looks. Also, in your sig, it says brill...shouldnt it be grill? sorry, im just picky like that. And what is shaved body molding? Any pics of that? Sorry, I just saw your new sig and your car looks sweet.

 

The side vents are functional.....when air enters the engine bay it builds up at the back and raises the car at high speeds, by installing these vents, it allows the air to escape, therefore, lowering the car at high speeds.......

I installed them for looks...

The side body molding, is circled below, or at least where it used to be....

The side strip that blocks the car from door dings and such...

 

 

I see, sweet, I never thought bout the side vents functioning like that...do they also help to keep the engine cooler? But, back on topic, did they paint over the bodyfiller for you as well or what?

 

You weld a piece of metal in there, and you can use body filler to make it smooth, or do some body work to do so, it's up to the shop or personal preference.......

Then just paint over the whole mess......

Do a search, you will find TONS of pics of other people who have done it before (deadbird, redraif, Kandied91z, just to name a few....)

 

DONT FORGET ME!

 

You'll find out how I did mine in that search also. Its not a bad idea to do it yourself if you have a welder and can do a little body work.

 

or for easy DIY u can guy a new fender out of year one i think it was i was lookin in and the passenger side fenders do not come with the antenna hole, u will have to drill it if u want it

 

I fiberglassed mine when I painted my car last month....Cant even tell it was there...Also shaved my nose emblem, side emblems and rear emblem...

 

Count me in on this....I welded mince completely shut then used some filler to smooth it out. If your into body work and have the right tools........it's a simple job.....

 

Some pics & instructions as we shaved my car!

Shaving

 

i see most people say to weld in a piece of sheetmetal, which i know is really the correct way. however, i always thought of doing it like slowfiveoh and just fiberglassing it instead. what would be the downsides to doing it that way. i don't have a welder, and would like to do it myself if at all possible.

 

The reason people try to weld in metal is due to the fact that the surfaces will be more alike, and less likely to crack. It will seal the hole shut. Bondo is the cheap mans way, I think it is even porous if not sealed with something. Over time the bondo would be exposed on the inside of the fender and could allow moisture to get in and cause problems. Plus unless its a pins hole or small surface skim, bondo is not strong enough alone and could fall out or start to check or crack! On the 82 there is an area that had some serious bondo and it had started to check bad. The paint looked like the way dry lake bed crack up.

Fiberglassing with kitty hair could do the trick. It would be stronger and more water resistant! I'm just not really sure how you would get it to go in the hole. Put a layer of mat on it from the backside maybe? then skim it with bondo?

 

I didnt use Kitty Hair... I used 3 layers af matting with the thick resin....There is no filler...The glass sanded so smooth I just needed spot putty on the top for a few little dimples~!

 

Awesome! Even better. I'm glad the matting worked so well for you!

 

Flynlow92RS,

I didn't notice at first, but now I realize it looks like you mounted the driver's side Z28 scoops on the passenger side?

 

that's what i was thinking, overlap the glass from the inside, then you just have a little filler to put in. but i don't know how well that would hold up in the long run.

 

A little welding, a little grinding and a touch of filler to smooth it out.

 

Mine's in the shop right now having it done. I don't know what it would cost for just the antenna, but I'm getting that, the door handles and locks shaved, all the little dents removed and the drivers side mirror area repaired. Then it'll be block sanded and ready for primer. All that's running me $650.

I had been told that fiberglass wasn't the best way to go because it wouldn't bond as well with the metal as welding a plate in would. Of course the antenna hole is so small that it probably wouldn't be a problem. I guess the thinking was that in the long run it might break/come loose. But that's just what I was told when I asked about doing it, so don't take it for gospel.

Slowfiveoh, how long have you had the fiberglass on there?

 

6 months so far... But I also used glass doing shaving and molding on my bug, And its holding great for over 2 years now!

 

So the ones that do listen to the radio. What do you do for reception??

Also, about the scoops. How do they stay in?? Bolts, clips, etc?

I am thinking about puting some of them in my s10 where the old emblems use to be.

 

i too would like to know if there is some sort of internal/hidden type of antenna that would work, or are radio users just doomed??

 

I dont like radio...I have 3,000 MP3s on my computer which makes about 35 mix cds plus all my other cds!

 

i have an mp3 player in my car also, but there is some badass radio stations where i live, and you cant get a morning show on mp3.

 

Well if you just simply disconnected the antenna at the back of the radio, reception suxs! I had no radio...

So I got ticked and decided to play around with it. Kandied said he left his antenna connected and Put it under his dash. So I got to play with it one night. I reconnected the antenna wire to the radio. I had the brace and crap that went in the fender. With just it reception still sucked, so I connected the antenna rod back on. That did the trick. So I had to find a way to get it all in the car under the dash. So I lowered both sides of the underside of the dash, the panels above your shins and feet… I took the antenna rod off the wire and bracket. I then put it all the way to the firewall on the passenger side. I then slid it below and to the back of the radio pod. Somehow i got it to poke out on the other side. i pulled it to the drivers side till I had enough clearance to put the base with wire and bracket back on it. I put this whole contraption and tucked it up and check the radio. Still got reception. So I put back the passenger side under dash panel and then the drivers side panels. You can't even tell what I did to look at it. And it works just fine. No shorts or interference!

Whew, spelled checked it that time. Man I type horrible!

 

Stations arent all that great around here, Plus none of our morning shows play any music...Maybe one song every 20 mins!

 

If you remove your fender, you can disconnect the antenna, cut off the mounting bracket, bend the mast a little, and the put it up into the fender lining.

 

have you done that, or do you know someone who has?? and it still keeps reception??

does anyone know of a smaller antenna that can be mounted in other areas?? some kinda aftermarket wonder deal?

 

That would have worked too! I was just a dummy and got to yanking it all out before we thought that far ahead! Honestly I was not sure if that method would make it rattle in the fender. It would have driven me nuts if it rattled and tapped the fender up in there! As it was I had chased a phantom rattle & roll in my passenger fender for 10 years. Finally the little turd showed himself. It was a dremel type bit. I have no idea how it got in the fender. Some mechanic somewhere along the line!

That and I figured we would get a replacement antenna that was designed for under the dash!! Radio shack supposedly sold an aftermarket one!

Well, I admit it i went the cheap-o route, stock antenna under the dash! But it works so who cares!

 

I can't say for sure that it'll get good reception in the fender well, cause my stereo was already disconnected when I put it there.

www.autoloc.com has an antenna that's designed to go in the dash when you shave yours. You could also do a windshield antenna.

 

http://www.autoloc.com/detail.lasso?itemid=hab

 

look at that price.

I think I will keep my antenna for now

 

That's why I just shoved mine under fender and called it a day. For the cost of the antenna, you could get XM for 6 months.

 

that thing is a great idea, its only 69 dollars. 69 dollars is not alot of money. most people spend that on fast food in a week. cut back on the late night snacks and youre in.

 

I hope that's not a personal total..

 

negative. but i know alot of people who work all the time and for them its easier to drive thru, than to go home and prepare something. especially nights when you work and take breaks or come home late, and you just wanna get something to eat, and pass out.

all im saying is that 69 dollars is nothing for a cool looking mod.

 

Sadly, I think I might be one of those ppl spending hella money on fast food. I have to go to my clients so I'm rarely close enough to home to get something for lunch, so I usually end up getting something out somewhere.

I think the point tho, is that you can shave your antenna without having to buy an aftermarket one. So the $69 antenna is more of an option part than a necessity. It's just like choosing between buying a new part and repainting your existing one, or using the original screws and bolts or buying new ones. If you got the dough, it's nice to have everything, but most of us aren't independantly wealthy. There's a lot of other stuff you could get for $70 that would be more useful and more enjoyable.

 

joezero... i wish i was independantly rich i would drive a 4th gen also, but sadly im not so lucky, but i do waste more money than i should. anywho, im from the east bay, and i was wondering if you did your antenna as well maybe i could drive up to sac and check it out, maybe your idea is better than mines

 

I just took it into the shop on monday to have all the body work done and paint, etc. They said it'd be primered by sunday, so I'm thinking maybe mid-late next week I'll have it back. I haven't had a radio in it since I relocated the antenna, so I don't know for sure if it works or not, but I thought someone on here had put it in the same location and it worked fine. If not, we may both be buying the $69 antennas
It's funny you should mention 4th gens as being independently wealthy, cause I sat down and crunched the numbers and I actually spend more modifying my car each month than I would making payments on a late model 4th gen. So I thought, "cut back on modifying my 88, and I could have a 98+ camaro parked next to it " So I think a fourth gen may be in my near future
But you're more than welcome to come look at the car when I get it back. As much of a headache as it's been getting the car stripped down, refinished, and eventually put back together, I think I'm gonna need a vacation, and San Francisco doesn't sound to bad right about now. MMM, ocean breeze Just shoot me an email and we can figure something out.

 

To all the guys who want radio still, you know most replacement antaina companies make a antaina that mounts on the inside to the glass, they measure 12"x 1/2" Personally I'd just run it all the way back to the hatch and mount it near the bottom and then run the wiring under the molding back to the stereo. Also as far as the bending the antaina and letting the rod touch the inner fender there is a reason they don't do that in the first place YOUR ENTIRE BODY IS GROUNDED! if you did it that way you would ground out your antaina straight into the stereo which would probably fry it if you cut open an antaina wire you will notice there are two wires like coax cable, one is a ground, the other is the actual antaina wire that connects to the mast (usally a very small copper strand) this is not meant to be grounded!

 

PS that under the dash one I was talking about last time I checked was under $20. I think made by eather audiovox or scouhce? (that spelling is wrong)

 

where would one buy something like that, i have never seen one before???

 

I've seen them at autoshops like autozone and such also most caraudio installation places should have them. I first saw them in audio mag I had I'll see if I can't track it down and find you a manufactures website or something when I get a free minute.

 

I hated that damn stock antenna too, it just looked too out of place for me. It was the first thing that I changed when I bought my car. If you run to autozone and ask them, you can get the small black rubber antenna for around $15. Personally, I think that they look really sharp.

See for yourself if you like:

http://www.racreations.com/pat_camaro.html

 

I've seen a few camaros with the little "euro" antenna, and to me it looks like their antenna needs some viagra or something.

Mine finally got done, I'm really glad I had the antenna shaved, I don't miss it one bit.

 

Yea digital thats what I have on mine the kind you can bend a little, it looks a hell of alot better but the reception isn't as good I lost 89X when I switched over and thats on my kenwood excelon.

 

Yeah, the reception isn't quite as good with those, but because I am always listening to a CD or MP3 disc it didn't really bother me. Plus all the stations around here are crap to begin with, we've got one good one and even that plays the same 10 songs all day. One time I forgot to hook up my antenna behind my CD player... I didn't notice it until about 4 months later